Lester will start Game 1, ahead of Josh Beckett, in a move that has much to do with his ability to bounce back if needed, but also much to do with the way he is pitching. Clay Buchholz will start Game 3 at Fenway Park.

In a span of 22 starts since May 31, he has a 2.31 ERA with 163 strikeouts in 114 innings, while opponents have .213 against him.

“What it really came down to is the fact that when you look at how our rotation was set up – and Beckett knows we feel this way – because for us to get where we want to go we’re going to have to lean on both of them,’’ manager Terry Francona said after the Sox’ 12-7 win over the Indians in the regular-season finale. “To flip-flop them around would have one guy on normal rest, another guy on [seven days’ rest]. That doesn’t make sense to any of us, including Beckett and Lester.

“As we go forward . . . we think Lester is situated where he can come back on short rest and that would have, say, Beckett if there’s a Game 5 on regular rest. There’s a lot of options that are open to us that we’re interested in exploring.’’

So even though Beckett’s performances and numbers verge on incredible in the postseason (7-2, 2.90 ERA in 87 innings), he will not pick up the ball until Game 2 Friday. Although Beckett has had an up-and-down season, he has a 3.67 ERA since June 10, and has allowed a .243 batting average against.


Click here to read the full article – By Amalie Benjamin of Boston.com

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